World Health Organization, here I come :)

by Shazia Mehmood.

This morning, I woke up extra early to prepare for an exciting first day of work at the World Health Organization. I'll admit that I had small butterflies as I went downstairs to eat breakfast-- just thinking that momentarily, I'll be standing in the WHO headquarters with my supervisor handing me a big stack of papers and telling me to "get started." Although it didn't exactly work out in such a daunting way, I did end up having a busy (but productive!) day.

The morning was filled with paperwork- applying for my badge, submitting my Terms of Reference and Accident Insurance Policy forms to the Internship Coordinator, and signing forms to get my Carte de legitimation for living in Geneva. By the time I finished the comprehensive tour of headquarters, I was already exhausted.

One thing's for sure though-- even if I don't have time to exercise while I'm here, running around the WHO building all day should be more than enough to keep me in shape!

Afterward, luckily it was lunch time and so I went to eat with a few interns in my department, who are all amazing! I was also lucky enough to attend a global health seminar that the Director General of the World Health Organization hosted for all WHO Staff on issues that were discussed at the World Health Assembly. It was definitely awesome to see her speak and watch the forum and videoconferencing with the WHO Regional Organizations as well!

And from 2-6pm I worked non-stop. I did tons of reading, writing, editing, and a good amount of questioning in the process (thankfully my supervisor didn't mind at all!). I think my supervisor was actually happy with my progress, so I'm hoping that we can make good headway into my project this week! All-in-all: a wonderful day :)

Shazia Mehmood is a participant in Duke University's Global Health Fellows Program. She just finished her first year at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and is very involved in domestic and global health policy.